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Fall/Winter 2012
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These students have strong records, strong potential, and are just on the cusp of being accepted to medical school,” says Dr. Levine. “Our program is an academic enhancer to help them get there.
In his first year of med school, Roth tutored physiology, having already taken the course during the AMP. “Being a tutor—making lesson plans, explaining concepts— forced me to re-learn the material even more thoroughly,” he says. No regrets Suparna Shah, a second-year medical student, worked in the business sector before admitting to herself that medicine, not management, was her passion. “I didn’t want to look back on my life with regret,” she says. “I wanted to be proud of who I was. But I figured I’d chosen my career and couldn’t back out now.” In 2008 she made the agonizing decision to leave an accomplished career in finance, then enrolled in a few pre-med courses at NYU and began volunteering at Roosevelt Hospital in Manhattan, assisting orthopedic surgeons. Still, medical school seemed a dim and distant prospect. By chance, a resident at Roosevelt mentioned a master’s program at Georgetown similar to the AMP. When Shah went to NYU to secure a letter of recommendation, she noticed a flyer for New York Medical
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College’s program tacked on a bulletin board. She applied immediately, but then received acceptance from Georgetown and reluctantly planned a move. In the span of five days in 2010, “the craziest week of my life,” Shah found out she was accepted to NYMC, went to Valhalla for an interview, cancelled her move to Washington, D.C., and a trip to India, got word her sister on Long Island had gone into labor, and prepared to start the AMP that fall. “Even though it was the most stressful week of my life, it was the best decision I ever made,” she says. “The year in AMP not only reaffirmed my passion for medicine, but also reassured me that I could succeed in medical school. And some of the people I met will be my friends forever.” After a successful year, Shah was accepted into New York Medical College. With many core classes already under her belt, she enjoyed the experience of being a T.A. and had time to become involved in the Student Senate. “I never expected to come into a medical college with such dedicated faculty,” she says. “I’ve been lucky. Not many people get the help and support to totally change their lives.” ■